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The majority opinion held across party lines, although the margins shifted: Childhood vaccine requirements had 90% support among Democrats and 68% support among Republicans, the poll found.

The survey was conducted in March with a representative sample of about 2,500 U.S. adults.

The new data aligns with . A January KFF Health ÃÛèÖÊÓƵ poll reported that said public schools should require some vaccines, with exemptions for health and religious reasons.

Vaccines are currently a topic of public debate on both the local and federal levels. That debate has gained new prominence under U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has on the safety of childhood vaccines.

The recommended in the U.S. includes vaccines that protect against diphtheria, measles, polio, whooping cough and other illnesses.

While childhood vaccination policy is largely decided by individual states, several of KennedyÃÛèÖÊÓƵ moves on the national level have worried public health experts. In early June, for example, Kennedy of the federal vaccination advisory committee. He then appointed new members before the committee .

Despite the focus on vaccination exemptions and hesitancy, the newly released poll indicates skeptics are in the minority.

Of the approximately 1 in 5 U.S. adults who do not support childhood vaccine requirements, the poll found, less than half are worried about vaccine safety. Instead, the most common reason for not supporting requirements was a concern about parental choice.

For illnesses such as measles, though, even a relatively small percentage of unvaccinated people can leave a community vulnerable. In order for a community to be protected against measles, of people must have immunity through vaccination or prior infection.

When the rate falls lower, communities become susceptible to outbreaks.

In Gaines County, Texas, about are vaccinated against measles — well below the herd immunity threshold. That county was ground zero for that began earlier this year. That outbreak has grown to 750 cases in Texas, plus more in other states. Two unvaccinated children in Texas have died in the outbreak.

Public health experts have said that, if childhood vaccination rates continue to dip, the state and the country will see of vaccine-preventable diseases.

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